


Running out of time

by Hauntedflamingo



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27632293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hauntedflamingo/pseuds/Hauntedflamingo
Summary: You are a speedster like your boyfriend Barry and fight crime with him. But you are overwhelmed and want a new life. What happens next?
Relationships: Alfie Solomons/Reader, Alfie Solomons/You, Barry Allen/Reader, Barry Allen/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

You were a speedster just like your boyfriend, Barry. The two of you had just finished fighting Snart and Mick for the upteenth time. They ruined the dinner party you had been planning for weeks. You barely sat down to eat when you and half of the guests had to make up an excuse to leave. You told your friends from work to enjoy themselves until everyone else returned. You were tired of it. Fighting crime and working at your job every day. It seemed like every time you turned around there was another villain wanting to destroy Central City or worse, Earth. It was overwhelming and there was too much pressure. You did not think you could live up to being a hero as good as Barry. 

You and Barry just finished dropping Captain Cold and Heatwave off at the police station. Rather than head back to S.T.A.R. Labs or the party, you started running down the street making your way towards the highway. “Y/N, where are you going?” Cisco’s voice comes in through your comms. Ignoring him, you keep running faster. “Barry, you should probably go after her.” 

“I’m on it.” He shouts. You turn your head to your left and see Barry running next to you. “Babe, you need to stop. If you go any faster you are going to open the speed force.” That is exactly what you wanted. To go to another time and place where you did not have to worry about saving someone every day. You could go back to having a normal life. You see the speed force in front of you, opening up. You wave to your boyfriend before entering into the unknown.

While in the speed force, scenes from your life pass you by. It was dark when you exited making wormhole less noticeable. That was a relief. It would be hard to explain to anyone around what was going on. You were so worn out you did not even want to waste time trying to find out when and where you were. You take off your suit and change back into your dress. Sliding down the side of a building, you sit down on the ground. All of the frustration and exhaustion you were holding in suddenly pours out in tears. A shadow appears on the ground and you look up to find someone standing over you. 

He must have been alerted by your crying. “What are you doing out here by yourself, love?” The man hands you a handkerchief. Reaching up, you grab it from him. “Thanks.” You use it to wipe the tears on your face and blow your nose. “Running.” Is the only other word you can manage to get out before you start sobbing again. You quickly look down, hopping he leaves you alone to wallow in your misery. 

Instead he leans down, taking a closer look at you. “Well ain’t you a sight?” You assume he means the makeup smeared all over your face. He waits a little bit for you to calm down before he continues to speak. “Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”  
“No.” Whispering so low you don’t even think he can hear you. He stands up straight and holds out his hand so you can take it. “You can stay with me. I have extra rooms in my house.” Without thinking, you grab his hand and he helps you stand up. You needed to get off the street anyway since you did not know where you were. You hoped you did not make a big mistake and decide to go home with some weirdo. At least if he tried something you could defend yourself. “What is your name?” He asks. “Y/f/n y/l/n.” You mumble. “My name is Alfie Solomons.”  
The ride to his house is silent. There is nothing to talk about. Besides you can’t to tell your story to a man you just met. You climb out of his car and get to the sidewalk before he can think about helping you. He unlocks the door to his house letting you walk in first. After turning on the lights he gets a better look at you. “Well it looks like you been through something, yeah.” A dog comes up to Alfie. “This is me dog Cyril.” 

“Hi.” You lean down and pet the dog on the head. He gives you a tour of the house taking you upstairs to show you the bedrooms. The dog follows you around the house during the tour. He opens the door to the last room on the right. It also happens to be the farthest from his room. “You can stay in this room, yeah. The bathroom is right next to it.” You sit down on the bed. Cyril decides he wants to lay on the floor. 

Alfie leaves the room, coming back a few minutes later with some clothes. “You can sleep in this and tomorrow we will buy you some clothes.” You were shocked. How could this man be so nice when he doesn’t even know you? Was he going to ask for something in return? You were afraid to find out. Maybe you can stay one night and find somewhere else tomorrow.

“I will leave you alone for the rest of the night. You can lock the bedroom door when you sleep if you feel uncomfortable.” He turns before leaving the room. “If you need anything else, I will be in my room.” He bends down to talk the dog. “Come on Cyril. She isn’t going to get up to take you outside.” Cyril still doesn’t move. “I guess he likes you.” Alfie gets up and walks to the door.

“Thank you.” You tell him before he closes the door. You stand up from the bed and lock the door before changing into the shirt he gave you. Folding your dress, you set it on a chair in the corner of the room. Unlocking the door, you open it slowly, heading into the bathroom to wash your face and use the toilet. To your surprise Alfie is nowhere in sight. “What a mess” you say to yourself in the mirror. You can see what he was talking about.

Going back to the room you lock the door before crawling into bed. The dog climbs up on the bed and lays next to you. “Are you supposed to be up here?” You ask, petting him until you fall asleep. You manage to fall asleep for once not worrying if you were going to be jolted awake by your boyfriend to fight crime. The smell of breakfast hits you when you open the bedroom door the next morning. After you use the bathroom, you head downstairs. Cyril follows you down the stairs, walks to the back door and starts whining. Alfie turns around as you enter the kitchen. “I assume you are going to need a job since you ran away.” Curiosity gets the best of you. But also, you were dreading his next sentence, not wanting to know what kind of work. “Yes.” You reply, not trying to show any emotion. Pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the kitchen table. Alfie opens the door so Cyril can go out. Alfie turns back to the food he preparing. He is making pancakes, bacon and eggs. “I was thinking I own a bakery, right. Would you like to work there?” Your eyes go wide when he says the word bakery. So much for trying to hide your emotions. “You own a bakery. That is so cool. I would love to work there.”

“Finally, you say more than one word.” He laughs at you softly. “Actually, working in a bakery is hot, innit? With the ovens and all.” He sets a plate filled with food down in front of you. “I didn’t know what you liked so I made all this. You did not realize your we’re starving. Also being a speedster, you ate quite a lot to keep up with your energy. “I am not even going to ask where you put it.” He sits down in the opposite chair with his plate watching you eat. “After we eat breakfast, I will take you to buy new clothes and give you a tour of the bakery. You can start on Monday.” 

“Thank you for everything.” Smiling at him, trying not to sound too grateful.  
“You can stay here as long as you want.” You did not want to impede on him any longer. The last thing you wanted to do was to put him out. As you continued eating, thoughts about your situation were still going through you head. Well I guess I can stay here until I make enough money to find my own place. First, I need to find out where I ended up. At least his accent gives me some sort of clue. Maybe. Why is he still being kind? After all of the metas you fought in Central City, it was hard for you to trust anyone. Eventually, you gave up the notion thinking he would ask for something in return and began to trust him, becoming friends. The next steps evolved naturally, dating and getting married. One day it all started to go south.


	2. Chapter 2

Since Alfie needed to be at the bakery before the sun was up every day, he made Ollie drive you around. Alfie did not want to make you get out of bed early. So, most of time Ollie would take you to the bakery and back home later in the day or wherever else you needed to go. During the drive, you stare out the window, caught up in the people going about their day. Don’t get me wrong, you loved your life. But sometimes you were bored, spending all your time at the bakery. Compared to your old life, this was relatively slow. On this particular morning, you happen to see a red streak pass by the car multiple times.

“Oh No!” You whisper to yourself, scooting down in the seat in order to hide. That couldn’t be him, could it? You had to go check. You could feel your heartbeat starting to speed up a little at the thought of him turning up. You were definitely scared of Barry destroying something. He usually did when he travelled through time. A wonderful example is flashpoint. “Can you pull over? Please Ollie. I would like to walk the rest of the way to the bakery.” 

You hear an audible sigh from the front seat as he pulls over to the side of the street. He turns around to look at you with a worried expression on his face, probably wondering why you were laying down in the back seat. “Mr. Solomons doesn’t like you walking anywhere.” Alfie was always worrying about you. He never wanted you to go anywhere alone. You had a feeling that was the other reason he had Ollie drive you around.

“I know but I would like to clear my head before I get to the bakery.” This was the best excuse you could come up with. Ollie gets out of the car, holding the door open so you can also exit. “Please don’t be late, ma’am. He will be livid, more at me than you.”

“I will try my best.” You start walking down the street, waiting for Ollie to drive off and for the streak to appear again. Once Ollie has driven far enough down the road, you slow down your pace. Settling on completely stopping all together, you stand at a store front to peer inside, using the window as a mirror and as a distraction. Someone was bound to come up to you and be a bother if you looked like you weren’t doing anything.

But you also needed a distraction for yourself. You hadn’t used your super speed since you ended up in England. So, if you became more anxious, your powers were bound to show themselves. You wanted to hurry up this “meeting” so you could get back to Alfie. 

Your view is disrupted by the streak speeding past in the reflection. Turning your head, you watch it speed down an alley a few stores down from where you were standing. Looking around, you check to make sure that no one is else is concerned with a red streak running around the city. You follow it down the street and into the alley, stopping a few feet away from him. Barry Allen. The boy you left behind. How do you wake up from this nightmare? Or was it one that was just beginning? 

“Y/N. I can’t believe I finally found you!” He looks so happy. “Wow, it’s been quite a while. Four years.”

“I am surprised you found me.” You look away from him, cringing at his overjoyed demeanor before turning to back to face him. The fact that he was standing right in front of you made your stomach start to do flips. He had to show up now! After you already made a life here. One that you would not give up that easily.

“We have been looking for you since you left. The team wanted me to give up hope.” He walks closer to you with his arms out, waiting for you to hug him. Rather than accept his invitation for a hug, you back away from him. Finally, he gets the hint and lowers his arms but not before you catch the glare that flashes on his face. 

“I love it here. You know I always wanted to go to London.” Pulling off you gloves; you stuff them in your coat pocket. Your hands were starting to become sweaty. They were also starting to shake. 

“We could have taken a trip to London if you wanted to go that bad.” Barry smiles weakly, trying to make light of the situation.

Knowing Barry wouldn’t understand, you grow silent. You had nothing to tell him. He wouldn’t like what you said anyway. How could you explain you had a new life? One without him. He would be devastated. You did not want to break his heart any more than you already did when you left.

“Well, you’re here. Now what?” Barry demands, irritated by your lack of communication. Hopefully nobody passing by could hear him. He tightens his hands into fists and starts pacing, faster and faster, picking up speed. Withing seconds, he takes off down the alley, leaving you in a cloud of dust. 

Barry would be back any second and his absence wasn’t enough for you to calm down. You needed to get out of there before something happened. Once he returns, you cut him off before he can start talking. “This was nice but I have to go now.” You were going to be late. You were already cutting it close by getting out of the car in the first place. 

“You need to change if you are going to be here any longer.” You state, matter-of-factly before turning around to leave him once again. You hoped he wouldn’t stay. He was already starting to ruin everything and he had only been there for a few minutes. You are not more than a few steps from him when you look over your shoulder. “Stop using your powers.” 

Before exiting the alley, you look around again. Rumors would be started if somebody saw you in an alley. You shove your hands in your pockets to hide them from anybody walking by. Trying to calm your nerves, you feel for your rings and run your fingers over your them. The walk to the bakery takes about fifteen minutes. Barely enough time for you to get to your office before Alfie comes looking for you to give you an update from his early morning rounds. 

As you arrive at the bakery, your hands are finally back to normal. Running into Barry totally messed up your morning routine. Unlocking your office door, you throw your purse onto the couch. Without taking off your coat, you head straight to the filing cabinet, pulling out some paperwork. You walk over to your chair and sit down, spinning around to face the desk. You let out a shriek when you find Barry sitting in a chair on the other side of your desk. All your papers fly around the room. Barry instantaneously hands them back to you. He takes his seat again as you stare at him in surprise. He was literally screaming at you a few minutes ago. 

“What are you doing?” You whisper, hoping Alfie did not hear you scream. “You can’t be here.”

“Y/N.” He reaches for your hand but you scoot back in your chair. His voice is softer this time.  
“Please come back with me.”

“I can’t.” Actually, you didn’t want to go back. Crossing your arms, you lean back in your chair, trying to increase the distance between the two of you. “I have a life here. I don’t have to worry about fighting crime. The only things I have to do here are go to work and then go home and relax.” You smile at him. “It’s nice. I don’t have to be on edge worrying about saving the city every five minutes.” 

“If that is the only problem, then you can quit fighting crime and leave it up to me.” He moves his chair closer to the desk. “Why didn’t you tell me you felt this way?” Once again, you let silence fill the air, you were already done with this conversation earlier. Maybe he thought the next words he said were what you wanted to hear. “I miss you.” Barry whispers. 

You sigh, picking up a pen and tapping it on the edge of the desk. Doing your best to distract yourself before you start crying. “I can’t just get up and leave. This is not that simple.” Waving your arms around. As if right on cue, your office door swings open. “Love, I need you to- “ Alfie freezes at the door, holding a stack of paper. “Who is this?” He asks, very curious as to why a man would be in your office.

Once again, you think of an excuse. The one for Ollie was easy. He would believe whatever you told him. But for Alfie, you didn’t want to be lying to him in the first place. If he ever figured out what was going on with you. Let’s just say that you didn’t want to be on his bad side. How long would you be able to keep this up? This was not going well. “He is an applicant.” You state, sitting up straighter in your chair, and dragging yourself closer to the desk so Alife wouldn’t think anything was wrong. “You know…the position we put in the paper a few weeks ago. I guess he thought we were taking too long to choose applicants to interview.”

Looking down, you pretend to read his name. “This is Bartholomew Allen.” You look back up at Alfie to make sure he isn’t about to explode since there was an unknown man in your office. To your dismay, Barry speaks up. “I really need this job, Ms.-“ 

“Actually, it is Mrs. Solomons.” Alfie interrupts him, putting emphasis on the word Mrs. He always wanted people to know you were married to him and show you off. Turning your chair, you remain focused on Alfie. The pen you were holding slips out of your hand and to the floor, rolling under your desk. Leaning down to look under the desk, you lay your head on your knees trying to take a quick rest before picking up the pen. You really wanted to hide. Alfie seems to thinking you are taking too long looking for the pen. “Everything alright, Y/N?” 

“Yes.” You squeak as you move back your chair to sit up straight. This whole interaction was going to be one hundred times more awkward now that Barry found out you were married. You can’t even look at him, knowing that he would feel betrayed by you for marrying another man. 

Alfie turns his attention to Barry. “We were going to start calling for interviews tomorrow. We can give you an interview time today since you are here now.” You turn back to your desk still not making eye contact. You grab the first piece of paper you see to write down the time and his name. “Um...th-the.” You clear your throat. Get it together Y/N. “The interviews are set for the 16th. What time would you like to come in?” You stare at the paper waiting for him to answer. “Nine thirty would be fine.” As you write down Barry’s information, your hand starts to vibrate. The anxiety from your ex-boyfriend sitting in front of you and your husband still at the door. 

Alfie knew nothing about your powers and you wanted to keep it that way. Thankfully he was too far away to notice anything was going on with your hand. Barry’s information ends up looking like chicken scratch when you are done.

Finally, you look up at Barry and your heart sinks. The pain in his eyes is too much for you to bear. You stand up to shake his hand while trying to control the shaking in your hand and your tears. “Th-Thank you, Mr. Allen.” Clearing your throat again. “I will see you on the 16th. Do you need me to show you the way out?”

“No. I will find it on my own.” The sound of his voice is like a knife through your heart. 

After Barry and Alfie leave your office, you take out a new piece of paper to write his information again. Closing your eyes, you lean back in your chair trying to calm down your body so can get back to normal. It’s not like I could have contacted him all that time and tell him I moved on. He should have moved on too. Four years! Why didn’t he give up already?

This time there is a knock on your door. Opening your eyes, you slowly exhale, hoping it isn’t Barry again. “Yeah?” You answer wearily, looking at the door. It opens and Alfie walks back in. “I didn’t tell you about this morning.” You stand up walking over to him. “I know, we got interrupted.” He gives you a kiss and you walk over to the couch. He follows you, helping you take off your coat and hanging it up. He sits down next to you. While Alfie begins to talk, you try to forget about Barry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might take a while.


End file.
